About Us

Yarrow Brown joined Housing North in May of 2020 and has over18 years’ experience working for a non-profit. Yarrow brings a diverse background in real estate transactions, project management, watershed and strategic planning, mapping and other technical skills. Her background includes working with diverse groups of people from landowners to government employees, lake associations, township officials and many more. She sits on the Board of the Fair Housing Center for West Michigan and served on the Cleveland Township Planning commission in Leelanau County for 2.5 years. She is working on her certificate in Fundraising Management. Yarrow resides in Cleveland Township in Leelanau County with her family. 

yarrow@housingnorth.org | 231-335-1685

Shelly, a Traverse City native with over 20 years of experience in housing and community development. With a bachelor’s in Natural Resources Management from the University of Michigan and graduate coursework at Wayne State University in Urban Planning, Shelly's passion for urban planning shines through. She has over 20 years of non-profit experience which began while working in Detroit, where she was the project manager for a comprehensive community redevelopment project in the Corktown area. The project included construction of affordable single-family homes, predevelopment for market rate housing, home repair programs, historic preservation, commercial development, and low-income tax credit housing. As a founding board member of the Woodbridge Neighborhood Development Corporation, she played a key role in preserving housing stock. Shelly has also worked in Detroit's lower East Side and later moved back to Northern Michigan, where she supported families at the Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency. Certified by MSHDA and trained by NeighborWorks America, she’s helped families navigate housing resources and financial programs. Now, Shelly enjoys raising her daughter in Traverse City, taking full advantage of the area's outdoor recreation. Whether biking, hiking, skiing, or enjoying the local beaches, Shelly embraces the natural beauty of her hometown.

shelly@housingnorth.org

Kent Wood has over a decade of experience working in and around Michigan’s legislative system. Prior to forming the government relations consulting firm Borealis Strategic, LLC in 2019, Kent was the government relations director and lead lobbyist for the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce (now called Traverse Connect) and before that the Michigan United Conservation Clubs. He also served on legislative staff for two members of the Michigan House of Representatives.

Through his career, he has helped organizations and clients develop policy, change laws, navigate the appropriations process, lead coalitions, and become action oriented advocates.

Kent has a J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law, and a B.A. from Albion College. He resides in Traverse City, Michigan with his wife Glenna and their four children.

kent@borealisstrategic.com | 231-883-4374

Tracy Davis is thrilled to return to her roots in her hometown of Manistee County, where she, her two daughters, and her puppy, Wookie, live, work, and play. She is a Northwood University alum, where she obtained her degrees in Business Administration and Marketing.

Tracy plans to utilize her extensive leadership experience and community engagement expertise to serve as an agent of change in Manistee County. Tracy strives to empower her community through dynamic problem solving to be part of the housing solution in Manistee and Benzie Counties.

tracy@housingnorth.org

Lindsey Dotson joined Housing North to provide Housing Ready Support in Emmet and Kalkaska Counties. She is the cofounder of GD Placemaking, a consulting company whose mission is to help elevate communities, property owners, and businesses by being a partner in helping dreams become reality while helping to preserve the built environment and unique character that makes places memorable.

Lindsey served as the DDA Director and Historic District Commission Coordinator for the City of Charlevoix for over 7.5 years. Lindsey is a certified Main Street America Revitalization Professional and a facilitator of Jon Schallert's Destination Creation Course.

Lindsey has a master’s degree in Historic Preservation from Eastern Michigan University, obtained her bachelor's at Grand Valley State University, and has over 11 years of experience in community and economic development.

Lindsey is a member of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network Board of Directors and volunteers as a member of the Professional Development Committee for the Michigan Downtown Association. Lindsey is also an appointed Historic District Commissioner in Norwood Township. She volunteers as an advisory member of the Charlevoix Historical Society Board and is on the Buildings and Grounds committee.

When not at work or volunteering, Lindsey can be found living her best life with her husband, son, and chihuahua, podcasting with her besties, or going on a random road trip to see the Jonas Brothers in concert.

lindsey@gdplacemaking.com

Zach has worked with the Genesee Metropolitan Planning Commission, Manistee County Planning Department, and City of Petoskey. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Natural Resources Management from Grand Valley State University and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Michigan State University, as well as accreditation from the American Institute of Certified Planners. In his spare time, he enjoys being an avid outdoorsman and spending time outside with his wife and birddog. Zach is serving the Housing Ready Program in Charlevoix and Antrim Counties.

zacharysompels@gmail.com

Eric is part of the Housing Ready Support team for Housing North. Through Progressive AE, Eric is providing technical support to the program in Wexford/Missaukee counties. Eric has over a decade of experience in housing development. His expertise includes housing finance and incentives; zoning and entitlements; historic preservation; grant writing and policy analysis. Prior to his work at Progressive Companies, Eric served as a real estate development manager, developing mixed-use workforce housing across the state of Michigan and managing $100 million in award-winning projects both in pre-development and construction. Eric has served as Executive Director of the City of Evart Downtown Development Authority and Main Street program, as well as President of Preservation Detroit, the city’s oldest and largest historic preservation organization. His writing on planning and development has appeared in the Detroit Free Press.

kehoee@progressiveae.com

Susan Leithauser-Yee is a real estate matchmaker, investor, consultant, empath, and MBA . In addition to twenty years experience in commercial banking and eight in residential real estate sales, she has served in several non-profit leadership roles and has renovated, owns and manages rental properties.  Since early 2024, she has served as Housing Ready Tech Support for Grand Traverse County.

Notable areas of expertise include:  Small scale residential  development, Rental property management, Property tax abatements and other public finance tools, Private public partnerships, Condominium law & governance, Contract negotiation, Accounting / finance

Susan received her  bachelor's degree from Wayne State University and MBA from University of Michigan.  

When she is not working or tinkering with her latest real estate project, Susan enjoys spending time with her family and exploring trails and beaches.   

Ryan is leading technical support for the Housing Ready Program in Leelanau County through Flywheel Companies. Ryan has a background in economic development, affordable housing, neighborhood design, and public finance. As the Executive Director of Housing Next, he helped to define access to housing as a core economic development issue for West Michigan through data-oriented dialogue and partnership with employers, local municipalities, chambers of commerce, and developers. Ryan has 15+ years of experience supporting local units of government, community foundations, and developers with technical assistance and best practice implementation through planning, zoning, process improvement, and the use of financial tools to create economically vibrant communities. He has a Masters in Design from Kendall College of Art & Design and a B.A. in Community Development from GVSU.

ryan@flywheelmomentum.com

Heather Spooner has had her hand in planning and executing events for the last 15 years with a number of local non-profits and community groups. Stepping in to coordinate the 2023 Northwest Michigan Housing Summit, Heather has chosen to continue to work with Housing North to create memorable, impactful and meaningful events moving forward. Moving to Northern Michigan in 2017, she has worked tirelessly to get involved in the community to gain a better understanding of the people and the culture of the place she now calls home. When she’s not working for Housing North she is creating artwork and events to promote community and connection. If you’ve ever found yourself posing for a photo in front of the wings in downtown Traverse City, you’ve interacted with a piece of Heather’s art!

events@housingnorth.org

Lissette has been working in community outreach, engagement and project management for the last five years as she started her professional career. She moved to Michigan in 2016 from the Dominican Republic to earn her Graduate degree in International Development at WMU in Kalamazoo through an international Graduate Scholarship Program. Lissette was highly recognized in the region through her role managing Project Rising Tide and each one of its initiatives in Manistee, earning the Young Professional Making a Difference award by the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce and Manistee Jaycee's Young Professionals Group. She's had experience with policy analysis, international development project management, process improvement, community communications and she led in the launch and management with our executive director of the Homes for our Future campaign and works with the communication ad outreach of activities for Housing North.

info@housingnorth.org